Parriah
by Kilroy111
Summary: Struggle. Compete. Fight. Survive. Somethings never change. (an alternate version of the Mass Effect Universe and first contact)
1. Chapter 1

**Background information **

World War 3- world war 3 erupted in 2020 after more than a decade of economic regression and stagnation. The first shots were an artillery barrage launched by North Korea against South Korea that killed 30 and wounded dozens more. This sparked an invasion of North Korea by the ROK. This inadvertently triggered the second American Civil war, when the federal government, under the Jacobin administration, refused to condone the war. After independent states attempted to support the war, Jacobin ordered the military into those states in order to impose control. This split the military and began the war. The rebels were called neoconfederates in a Whitehouse press release, and the name stuck. The war civil war lasted only six months, but drug in seven countries, and killed almost a million people. In the chaos caused by the war, China invaded Siberia in order to gain vital fuel reserves and space, in order to support their massive population. India invaded China in response to this blatant aggression. Pakistan, which had fallen under a hard-line Islamist regime, used this opportunity to attack India, beginning with a nuclear strike against New Delhi. Iran nuked Israel after an Israeli air strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. War engulfed the Middle East as a result.

After seven years of fighting, and more than a billion casualties, the wars ended. China was defeated by a Russian, American, Indian coalition. Outer and Inner Mongolia were united, Hong Kong and Macao were given independence, and Russia was given Manchuria. North and South Korea were united after Kim Jong-un detonated a nuke in Pyongyang, killing seven million. The Pakistan-Indian war ended after a military coup removed the radical government. And the Middle Eastern conflict ended in a stalemate between Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

World war 4-after a decade of rebuilding, another world war broke out. This one sparked by a United Nations attempt to create one world government. The attempt was resisted by the powerful American, Russian, Indian alliance called the Troika. Their resistance, sparked resistance in many other countries across the planet, in the form of relatively bloodless revolutions, rebellions, and insurgencies. Unable to govern seven billion people, the UN collapse.

The Martian discovery- five years later, a massive sand storm revealed something as Mars' southern pole. Initially believed to be a strange rock formation, satellite imaging revealed it to be an artificial construct. This discovery sparked a mad rush to get a man on Mars, with every country with a space program launching missions to the red planet. The ultimate winners were the Troika, with a joint mission that discovered the Prothian archives. Within two years, the first FTL jump was attempted. Within two more years, the Charon relay was discovered and the race was on to colonize as much territory as possible.

Colonization-with Earth's population approaching 8 billion, there were no shortage of volunteers to explore the stars. And with the fierce competition between various countries strong, no stone was left unturned. This competition drove humans to colonize many planets that would have been passed over by any other species. With humans building vast underground or underwater cities when the atmosphere was inhospitable, or huge mobile factories, where the sun was too hot. Humans also attempted the most ambitious terraforming attempts in history, with the most famous arguably being the "gas pump" of Venus, where they attempted to thin out Venus' atmosphere in order to cool the planet. During this time, the human population skyrocketed, with tax incentives to have more children. Eventually, the population of Earth alone grew by a billion every five years, only to have a similar number emigrate in the same time.

Over the next 50 years, Human technology advanced at breakneck speed, if at an odd angle compared to other races. The Omni-took was never invented; however, they developed a way to build their own mass relays.

Then came first contact.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer, I do not own Mass Effect**

Ship's log USS Solaris, Unites States research ship attempting to activate Mass Relay 314

Captain John Mattas' of the USS Solaris, January second, 2093, 1600 hours. Still hung over from last night. It's funny how we still celebrate the New Year, even in space. Activation of the relay recommenced at noon today. Its progressing slowly, the crew is green; half of them are barely out of college, and the other half are interns. But they make up for it with energy. It always amazes me when I see a mass relay. I think of who built them, and why. Anyway, the relay should be operational by this time… (sirens) What is that? Send out a distress signal, we have to warn Shanxi.(static)

End of recording

Joint Russian American HQ, Dofa peninsula, Shanxi. General Jacob Michellan's log

January second, 2093, We received a distress signal from the ship that was activating the new relay. At first glance, it would appear that this is just another pirate raid. But any pirate would have to have passed by Shanxi in order to reach that location. A search and rescue team was dispatched five hours ago, it is only a three hour journey, and they haven't reported back. This is strange, I can't put my finger on it, but something isn't right here.

January third, 2093, The Search and Rescue team has disappeared as well, there are no signs of pirate activity in the area, and some of the junior officers are worried. A meeting has been called between myself, general Grevoyich, and the Chinese governor of Shanxi.

Recording of Scanner operator Sgt. Alfred Jones, scanner control 12, Dofa Peninsula, Shanxi

(Sigh) I need another coffee, these twelve hour shifts are killin…. Me…what the?is that a, no it can't be. Not from that direction. Shit. (on phone) This is Scanner control 12 we are picking up a number of UFO's inbound at SL speeds from vector 4-2. Can anyone else confirm "scanner control 12, this is scanner 3, we have similar hits on our scope" "Control 12, this is scanner 5 we confirm your hits, what are they?" I think I know, oh God I think I know, but I hope I'm wrong.

Video recording of the meeting of Generals Michellan and Grevoyich, and Governor Yue Pong

And aid enters the room and whispers in Michellan's ear.

"What?! Right. Our long range scanners have picked up a fleet inbound to this planet from the direction of the lost ships, can anyone explain this?"

Grevoyich "It cannot be one of ours, or of the Chinese."

Yue "but that could only mean one possibility…"

Michellan "whatever it is, we must take precautions, if it is pirates, they will need to be fought, if it is… something else, they may need to be fought, and I am not going to be caught flat footed!"

Yue "we shouldn't inform the public, it could start a panic. We can tell them that it is a drill for a new set of safety procedures."

Grevoyich "I agree, we should move the civilians away from the cities, if it is pirates or terrorists, the cities will be the first things to be hit, and we should inform our nations of the situation."

Michellan "then we have our tasks then."

General Michellan's speech to the American forces stationed on Shanxi. 1800 January 3

Gentlemen, at 1200 today, long range in system scanners picket up an unidentified fleet of objects moving within the system in a controlled fashion. We believe this to be an abnormally large insurgent fleet, or extra terrestrials. If they are pirates, we will show now mercy, if they are refugees, we will show charity, and if they are aliens, we will determine their origin and purpose. If they seek peace and cooperation, they we will return the sentiment. If they are hostile, we will return their hostility one hundred fold! I hope it doesn't come to that, but if it does, we'll show them how a Human wins a war.

**Author's note.**

**Shanxi is a Chinese colony, Russia and America lease the Dofa Peninsula as a base of operations for exploration of the area.**

**Shanxi has been colonized for almost a decade and has a population of almost a billion**


	3. Chapter 3

Orders from the Turian Hierarchy to Admiral Sorul Tintus January 2 2093

We have received you report on the situation at Relay 314 and believe that you are correct in your actions. This new foolish race was attempting to blindly open a dormant mass relay which could lead to devastating ramifications for the rest of the galaxy. In addition, their attempts to fire on your ships are to be taken as an act of war. Your standing orders are to proceed to the alien home world that you have identified, and pacify the population. You are being given free decision making authority on how you accomplish this goal.

Councilar Tevos's Diary

There was a disturbing development today; a report came in of a minor Turian mobilization near relay 314. The hierarchy was silent on the matter, but I feel that there is something far larger at work. There will be a session of the Council tomorrow; I will pressure Sparatus on the matter and hopefully learn something useful.

STG Report

We have learned from an informant in the Turian Hierarchy that a violent first contact has occurred at the dormant relay 314. The informant states that the new aliens were attempting to activate the dormant relay, and were attacked by a Turian patrol fleet. Recovered bodies reveal that the new race is bipedal and mammalian, with a similar appearance to Asari, with a physical build more like a Batarian. These reports are incomplete because the bodies were recovered after their ship had been destroyed, and the bodies had drifted in vacuum for several hours.

Edit-a second group of ships was encountered by the same patrol fleet. The alien ships fired on the patrol fleet, but were destroyed. The new race is considered to be violent and aggressive in the protection of its territory. Further analysis is required, but a Solution Protocol could be required.

Recording from the CIC of the Turian cruiser Guardian Spirit

First mate "Admiral, may I ask a question?"

Admiral Tintus "Certainly"

First mate "Thank you sir, was it really the correct course of action to fire on the unarmed alien ship sir? They couldn't have known about Council Law or…"

Tintus "That is enough. You have been a fine officer of mine for many years; I would have never thought that you of all people would question my decisions. They violated Council Law, we are in the right, and they will learn from their mistake. Am I clear?"

First mate"…..Yes sir."

Tintus "Very well, do you have anything else to question?"

First mate "No sir"

Tintus "Good. Tomorrow, we commence our attack, and they will be brought into the galactic community. Either by their own will, or as a client of the Hierarchy."


	4. Chapter 4

Human radio traffic over Shanxi January 4,2093

"this is the Tuskara, requesting fire support from groundside Shanxi batteries. We need that anti-orb Ack Ack!"

"Tuskara, this is this is orbital command, you have covering fire inbound." "All batteries, this is orbital command, targets are painted and you are clear to fire."

"Reporting Direct hit on Marks two through twelve, Mark five is breaking up"

"Excellent work gentlemen, fire at will."

"This is anti-orb battery 3 we're taking counter battery fire from Marks one and two"

"Tuskara is lining up for a shot battery 3….Mark two is down, repeat, direct hit on…(static)

"Tuskara? Tuskara, this is orbital command can you copy?"

"Tuskara is down, advise all fleet elements, heavy cruiser Tuskara is down. Fall back to the day side of the planet and regroup"

"Marks one, three, and seven are breaking atmosphere, descending onto Xian and Ju-yan at vector 3-4"

"Copy that, message relayed to Planetary Guard."

Combat footage of the Turian landing in the city of Xian, Shanxi Colony, January 4, 2093. 1500 hours

(in Chinese) "Colonel, the artillery is in position, and well hidden from the sky."

"Good, Good. We wait then."

Half an hour passes

"Sir, it has been fifteen minutes since the last alien ship landed."

"Very well, release the sky mines, and open fire"

The city of Xian, along with every other major population center on the planet is completely deserted, evacuated the day prior to the invasion. Now that the Turian forces have landed in the cities, the howitzers that encircle the city open fire, causing significant casualties

Author's note-Sky mines are an older invention, pioneered in the third world war, they come in many forms, but they all boil down to an explosive charge, attached to a simple engine and guidance system. The guidance system identifies friendly IFFs and attacks anything without proper clearance. They are often used for perimeter defense, or to prevent aerial extraction.

Journal of Private Alex Dremevski, VDV, stationed on Shanxi

(Translated from the original Russian)I witnessed the start of a war today. The, aliens, they attacked our base, in the afternoon. They looked like armored birds of prey, their heads had this long tail on it, and I can only imagine what they looked like under their armor. We fought them at every turn, and their casualties were high. I remember one I killed myself. We had fallen back into one of the barracks, another private and I waited to jump him on either side of the door. When he came in, he shot my comrade with a shotgun like weapon, but he was forced to turn his back, or whatever it is called on it, to me. I beat it with the but of my rifle, before plunging my bayonet into its neck, they blood was odd, and its scream was strange to me. I have killed men before, I have seen men shot and stabbed before my eyes, and I have always felt something, but this was strange. I felt noting for it, as the alien lay bleeding and crying in its language, another bayonet thrust brought silence. It was then that I thought of what was really happening to me, to us, to all of humanity. What will we be when this is over; how alien will we become to save ourselves? Will we survive? I do not know.


	5. Chapter 5

**Private Sortan Siratus's journal, Turian Pacification of Shanxi, February 1, 2093**

I arrived late in this planet's night cycle, and spent the night sleeping off the jump lag from the trip. This is my first combat posing, and I didn't know what to really expect. They tell you about it in basic, you run the sims, you hear you parents stories. But there is no replacement for actually being there. My unit landed at a secure base in one of the human cities, Xiao I believe it was, and as I said, we were sleeping off jump lag, until that is our CO woke us up early that morning. We rolled out in transports, three of them. The base was on the edge of the city, and our objective was near the center. As we rode, the I noticed two things. First, I noticed the lack of civilians on the streets, but then I thought that they might have been evacuated. Then I noticed the buildings. They were single story and sprawled, I couldn't tell if they were houses or something else, but I saw that they were built out of wood and brick. I hadn't thought that any space faring race would still use those materials for structures. Anyway, I watched the houses through the vision slit in the transport, before I noticed that every so often on the side of the road, there were poles, I began to puzzle over what they were for when one of the had something dangling from it. I thought to ask the Sergeant what it had been when I saw another, and another. Then the transport stopped and we disembarked. That was when I got a good look at what was hanging from the pole. It was a human, dangling from a length of rope wrapped around its neck. It was obviously dead. I asked the Sergeant about it and he said that there were thousands of humans killed that way in the previous night, killed by a mob for assisting with the occupation. "Collaborators" the humans called them, then for the first time, I looked down the street, for as far as the eye could see, every pole had a corpse dangling from it in the breeze, and for the first time in my entire life, I was scared. If they will do this to their own, what will they do to us?

**Journal of Lefal Sorut, Asari Military Analyst, Shanxi, February 1, 2093**

This morning, I woke up to the sound of chanting, not of a song, or like anything I have ever heard before in my three hundred years. My quarters were on the upper floor of what had been the primary police office of the Human city before the invasion. It was now the Turian HQ. I looked out the window to find a sea of beings, carrying torches, knives, clubs, weapons of every shape and size. They attacked without reason or coordination, burning and crushing everything in their path. Along the streets were light posts, and from these they hung ropes. At first I was curious as to what they were for, but my curiosity was rewarded with death, from the crowd, individuals were brought forward, the rope was tied around their necks, and they were yanked into the air by the rope. There they kicked and swung, until they fell silent, the Turians attempted to disperse the crowd, only to be attacked themselves, they humans hurled flaming bottles that exploded into fireballs, I learned their called "Molotov Cocktails". Then the crowd rushed the Turians, many fell, but more made it through, the clubbed and stabbed the soldiers, the mob almost seemed to eat them alive. That was when a Turian entered my room and escorted me to a safer location. I fear for them, the Turian vengeance will be swift and brutal, but I also fear their retaliation.

**Author's note-in this alternate universe, people dress more or less like they do in the early 21****st**** century. Natural fabrics are still used, as well as wood. Why? Because it always bugs me when in the future nobody has any pockets. Also, for future reference, Humanity hasn't invented the Omni-tool. Instead, they use things that are more or less a smart phone that has a LOT of functions, pops out when you turn it on, ect. Also, quick geography lesson on Shanxi. The Dofa peninsula is about the size of Scotland, and is heavily wooded, the Russians and Americans repelled the invasion there. The other major cities are all located along the New Yellow River. Of the three largest, Xiao, Xian, and Zhun, Xiao and Xian are located up the river, and have been captured by the Turians. Zhun is located in the delta of the New Yellow River, and has not been taken, with the Planetary Guard staging hit and run attacks from the swamp, along with the fact that Turians can't swim all that well. More on the Human military in the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Route 14, Dofa peninsula February 10, 2093, recording of American M72 Jackson MBT, **

"Button up boys, scouts report Tango's a click out"

"About time, we've been camped here for six days, I need some action. Why don't we just Blitzkrieg the shit out of them freaks"

"You're a loader Jones, the only action you see is the breach of a gun."

"Can it the both of you. We're all that's left of the 133rd Armored, and I'll be damned if I'll get us all killed in some glory hound charge! I know you guys are pissed, but in about five minutes, you'll get to blow a whole convoy of Alfa's to hell"

Over radio "Unit command, Alfa's are entering the kill box. Snipe One has bead on lead Chicken Walker"

"Copy that Boxer One has the lead APC, bracket the convoy and wait for Snipe one to engage. Jones! AP up!"

"AP up!

Rifle shot. Over radio "Lead chicken walker is down, all Alfa's are in the kill box."

"Free engagement confirmed, Blake, lead APC"

"gott'em"

"Fire!"

"Direct hit, target is cooking, Alfas bailing out. Airburst up!"

"Airburst up!"

"Ten degrees over target, Fire"

"Alfa's down"

"let loose with the co-ax, mop up the stragglers, Boomsticks have the other APCs. Good work gentlemen, another clean sweep, Jacobs, hit the coolers, fire the engine and fall back to rendezvous before their orbital gets their act together"

**United States Titan Colombia, undergoing refit over New Eden, Admiralty meeting, February 12, 2093**

"Gentlemen, you have all been briefed on the situation on Shanxi. Now, what should we do about it?"

"The pentagon's orders are clear, sweep the system with extreme prejudice, destroy all hostiles, restory human control of the system"

"But they also want to see a message, they want over wealming firepower brought to bear, and the Colombia still has shix months of refit ahead of her."

"She's been down for a month already, why do you need another six months?"

"Because Admiral, its like trying to refit a city the size of Manhattan."

"And lets not forget that the Russians and Chinese want in on this operation too"

"and they plan to bring their Titans, this will mean massive fleet redeployments, power vacuums, and even the destabilization of some areas."

"I would seem that waiting six months might not be such a bad thing after all, it would allow us to see what such a massive redeployment will do the Politians."

**Council meeting, Citadel February 10, 2093**

"The Turian Hierarchy has the situation well in hand Councilors; there is no need for the Asari or the Salarians to become involved."

"Is that really the case? I have confirmed reports of these humans executing each other in the streets! Who knows what manner of damage you are doing to their culture!"

"your one to talk, at least we shake their culture in one swift moment, if it were up to you, you would break down their society over centuries, they would probably never even notice. We stand against them face to face."

"If I may intrude Councilors, the STG had already done several studies on the nature of these aliens, thought we would like to know more. Perhaps we should adjourn until more data can be acquired?"

**Classified STG Scientific report, Relay 314 conflict zone, Shanxi**

Now that we have fully decoded the three human languages used on this planet, we can more accurately assess the history of the species.

Overall, the human race has teetered on the brink of anarchy since the rise of their civilization. When resources were plentiful, there were periods of relative peace. During these periods, various organizations and movements have sought to change the nature of their civilization in one way or another. However these periods are interrupted by periods of violent war and fanaticism that is unequaled in any other species. These violent outbreaks are caused by a shortage of one critical resource or another. While the studies are incomplete, the humans appear to have a strong military tradition, combined with a strong aversion to authority on a large scale. This is why they haven't unified as a species. Integration may be difficult, if not impossible, without extreme cultural change on the part of the humans.

**Author's notes-Ok a lot of notes this time. The M 72 is a direct descendent of the M1 Abrams of the 21****st**** century. Very similar in appearance, the main gun is a 130mm smooth bore boosted cannon, supported by a co-axial heavy machine gun, and a cupola mounted light machine gun. Like the Abrams, the Jackson has a crew of 4 (loader, gunner, driver, and commander) the reasoning behind this is that a living loader is almost as fast as an autoloader, and twice as reliable. In addition, if the vehicle is disabled, an extra crewman offers an extra set of eyes and hands to assist with repairs.**

**The Boomstick, is in reference to the M88 RAR (rocket assisted rifle) designed during the third world war, and remaining largely unchanged since then, it is a 60mm Gyro-jet rifle. Using napalm or white Phosphorus rounds, they are used for anti vehicle, and anti emplacement work. **

**For future reference, the primary combat rifle of the US Army is the M111 HAMR. Able to be reconfigured to serve as a rifle, carbine, or light machine gun, it is favored by the army for its reliability, and ability to be easily built using 3-D printer technology, allowing for almost any base to maintain a large supply of rifles. **

**The Titan class isn't so much a class as a classification of ship. The ships are five mile long, three hundred yard wide triangular prisms. Along each edge of the prism are space one hundred turrets each mounting three cannons. Each cannon has the yield of a low end cruiser, and, correctly angled, a Titan can bring all three hundred turrets to bear on one target. Inside the titan is a massive mass accelerator that makes the ship a mobile small mass relay, able to shoot frigate sized shipping containers over dozens of light-years. The Titans themselves are multi role craft, serving as colonization establishment ships, able to carry a million passengers if properly loaded, protect the colony, and supply it with machinery form its foundries. It can then use its mass accelerator to quickly ship back goods. They are also meant to serves a "break through" ships, using their size, armor, and firepower, to smash through the dense blockades at are established around mass relays. They are also used as planetary assault ships, able to carry vast amounts of troops and materiel, and bombard multiple groundside targets at once. **

**All human militaries make heavy use of 3-D printing technology to quickly equip armies in the field. There are limitations however. As a general policy, all guns make in printers are recycled after 1000 shots, or three years of storage, and the plastic cannot be used to make body armor or complicated electrical systems. **

**Because of the rarity of element zero in human space, humanity has become very efficient in its use of the element. Therefore, all human firearms are "boosted guns" that utilize a standard projectile that is fire through a barrel that creates a mass free tube to the target, allowing the bullet to reach up to 100 times the speed of sound. Guns of this type utilize half of the element zero of standard weaponry, and posses more kinetic energy, at the loss of armor piercing ability. **


	7. Chapter 7

**American temporary HQ, Dofa peninsula, Shanxi, February 19, 2093**

"Has the Planetary Guard confirmed that they are in position?"

"Yes general, it came over the underwater line about an hour ago."

"Good. Send confirmation of our position. Operation Tendril will commence in twenty four hours."

**Daily report, Primary Turian garrison, Xian, Shanxi, February 20, 2093**

0600-All clear, all three of the night patrols reported back. Little activity from the natives.

0900-patrol Five didn't report back. The general belief among the officers is that this is a sign of a future increasing in human partisan activity. A request was filed to increase the threat level of the region.

1200-Artillary fire from previously unknown positions surrounding the city. Three bridges have been reported to be down, human infantry has been sighted attempting to infiltrate the city

1300-Reports have been confirmed across the planet. This is a general human offensive across all fronts. Human artillery has destroyed several outlying bases and has caused severe damage to the primary instillations. Most of the city has been declared a hot zone and is under the control of native forces.

1500-All but three primary bases have been captured by native forces. The remaining instillations are under siege conditions. Orbital support negated by the close proximity between our forces and the enemy. Close air support is negated by the presence of man portable surface to air missiles. Immediate ground support is urgently requested.

1800-Friendly armor has been sighed advancing down the street. Native forces are withdrawing.

2100-No other bases can be raised over the comm. They are considered to be either destroyed or captured. This city, Xian, was the only city we were able to hold against the assault. Interrogation of prisoners will hopefully lead to an understanding of now the humans were able to maneuver such a large force without the aid of heavy equipment, and without detection.

**Interrogation of Sgt. Travis Buck, Shanxi, February 25, 2093**

"Prisoner number A-320. What is your name?"

"Kiss My ASS!"

"Your unit?"

"Go F #& yourselves!"

"Travis Buck, we know who you are. Despite you beliefs, we have a complete understanding of your language, and understand the function of you "dog tags" so please cease the profanities. Now, how was your army able to move thousands of soldiers, and hundreds of artillery pieces, with accompanying ammunition, hundreds of miles without heavy equipment or draft animals?"

"You bird faces are just as retarded as you look aren't you?"

"They demonstrate you superior intellect sergeant."

"We F #$ing walked"

**Classified STG science report, Shanxi conflict zone, February 28, 2093**

In light of the devastating human counterattack, research has been diverted to focus on the nature of human biology when compared to the other galactic species.

Humans are bipedal simian mammals that evolved to travel across vast open grasslands that are assumed to be common on their home world. (Though we are tempted to label them as semi aquatic due to their affinity with water) Their predecessors were tree dwellers that become isolated as their forest habitat gave way to grasslands, causing them to adapt to the new environment. This unique evolutionary situation gave them the advantages of both a forest creature and a grassland creature. For example they posses sharp color eyesight and excellent depth perception, as well as a very efficient system for locomotion.

However the most important aspect of human physiology and the one that allowed them their crushing victory is their efficient system for the transfer of heat out of the body. Most galactic species transfer excess heat from the body through the mouth, or some dedicated cooling organ. Humans have evolved to excrete a saline solution from their skin. This solution evaporates, cooling the body, effectively tuning them into walking radiators. This system allows a human to move at a steady pace for a very long time, even while carrying heavy loads. For comparison, the longest distance a human force moved in their counter attack was approximately two hundred miles. Prisoners lead us to believe that they covered that distance in almost exact five days, covering forty miles per day for five straight days. By comparison, a Turian force would have taken twice as long to cover that same distance, and would have been unable to carry the amount of equipment that the humans were able to, and would have lost approximately five percent of their force in the effort. This kind of endurance is only exceeded by the Krogan. Other data on birth rate and damage resistance will be included when compilation is complete.

**Author's note-The Planetary Guard is the planetary defense force of Shanxi. The primary Chinese military recruits from the Planetary Guards of the Chinese colonies. The Planetary Guard is expected to handle any situation short of interplanetary war and is equipped with identical equipment to the Chinese military. Every colonial power has a branch similar to the planetary guard.**

**Additional note on Human armor. Modern Human combat armor is divided into two categories, EVA and traditional. EVA armor is large, and heavy, intended for boarding operations and orbital drops. Some models are so heavy that they cannot be used in standard gravity. Traditional combat armor is largely the same as the armor worn in the 21****st**** century. It consists of a vest made of ballistic material that contains metal of ceramic inserts that provide the primary layer of protection. Some uniforms also have built in pouches in the pants and shirt that allow for specialized inserts to protect to the legs and arms.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon, Earth, February 5****th**** 2093**

Secretary of Defense "Gentlemen, you have all been briefed on the nature of the situation on the Chinese colony Shanxi. Now we need to decide a course of action."

Secretary of State "There are too many unknowns. Nothing has come back through the relay since that attack. We have no idea as to what these aliens want, what they are, or what they are capable of."

General one"I am more concerned for what they are doing to the people living on Shanxi. I believe that their safety should be our top priority."

General two "Over the safety of the tens of billions of humans living on this side of the relay? Our concern here should be the safety of the human race, and therefore, I believe that this threat should be met with immediate and overwhelming force."

Gen one "I agree with that, what I believe is that whatever we do we should do quickly in order to save as many lives on Shanxi as possible."

Sec of State "You must remember generals that this is no longer about the safety and security of the United States, this now includes the entire Human race. A peaceful solution should be pursued over all else."

Sec of Def "You are right. And I would much rather have an alien to talk to that to shoot. But the simple fact is that they have been in control of the system for over a month and we have heard nothing. Not one communication has come through the relay. Therefore, we must assume that they creatures are hostile, and that we should take all possible precautions, no matter how extreme."

Gen two "Sir, are you proposing that this could be a Nova protocol scenario?"

Sec of Def "Yes general I am. You have access to those files, you know what they are, I pray to God that it won't come to that, but have them ready all the same."

**Article in the USA Today**

It has been over a month since the Chinese colony of Shanxi, one of the most remote colonies in Human space went dark. The official explanation came out last week, claiming that the planet is under quarantine due to an outbreak of a previously unknown alien contagion. This has brought scoffs from the intelligent alien theorists who staunchly believe that this is in fact a cover up of the discovery of a living alien race, comparing it to the "weather balloon" story used in the twentieth century. However, our analyst believes that this is in fact the most daring act of interstellar piracy in history, believing that the virus was released by the infamous Red Hands, in order to exterminate all resistance on the planet, leaving it vulnerable to plunder. This hypotheses is shared by several other experts from across Human space, and is gaining significant traction amongst the general population.

**Author's notes-Don't have anything to say background wise, but if anyone has any suggestions for a better way to format the recording style conversations, like the meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff without making it sound like a script, please PM me or post your suggestion in the reviews.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Report of Turian General Turbarus, Shanxi, June 11****th**** 2093**

After months of searching we have located the primary bases indigenous resistance on this planet. A full description is enclose, but in short, the natives have been forced into two underground bases, one on an island in the infernal river delta, and another on the heavily militarized peninsula, known locally as the Dofa Peninsula. We believe that orbital bombardment will suffice in destroying the bases, given the time that they have had to build them and the equipment they are believed to possess. The attack will commence at the beginning of the next day cycle. The end of the war is at hand.

**Journal of Pvt. Avery Barner, United States Remnants, Dofa Peninsula, Shanxi, June 11****th**** 2093**

Month number three of living like rats in these tunnels. It is still dark, still wet, and the freaks are still traipsing around up top like they own the place. Oh if only they knew what was down here. Hell, I don't even know what's down here. Three months and I've only seen a little bit of the tunnels, and I helped dig half of that. And on the topic of digging, are we ever going to stop? Every day, it seems that all we do is dig, and dig, and dig, and dig some more, I feel like a damn groundhog or something. I'm sure the brass has a reason, probably just to keep us all working since they don't seem to keen on attack anymore. They're probably just waiting for the navy to show up and have all the fun.

**Journal of Liu Fung, militia soldier, Crooked Island Mine, Shu river delta, Shanxi, June 11****th**** 2093**

(Translated from original Chinese)Our militia unit or what's left of it at least has finally made it to the Crooked Island. I had heard much about it in the past months, to the point that it had an almost mystical quality about it. "Impenetrable" they called it, "impossible to find", "The greatest bastion of humanity on Shanxi". Our arrival was by simple rafts and at first, the sight was underwhelming. It was just an overgrown island, with a small collection of abandoned buildings sitting on it. We were led into one of the buildings where there was an elevator which we rode down into what seemed to be the center of the planet. When we reached our destination, we were greeted by a long, low, wide tunnel, with odd white walls. We piled onto an electric car and were driven deeper into the old tunnels. After we disembarked and had set up a camp, we began to mingle with other soldiers; from them we began to learn the story of the tunnels. They said that this had been a salt mine when Shanxi was first colonized and that it sprawled across the delta for kilometers in every direction. They also told us of the makeshift factories, hospitals, training grounds, and hydroponic fields that supported the army. Seeing this place has given me hope. The aliens may control the sky and the surface, but the land it is ours, this planet is ours! And they will never take it!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note-Ok I'm sorry for the long wait I'm waiting for a new laptop, had some writers block, the usual stuff. I would just like to thank you for reading this...thing... up to this point, i love reading your review and seeing what you think. Anyway, I'm still working on where I want to take the story at this point but it never seems to turn out the way I want it to so I thought I'd put up some background material on Humanity in my alternate universe.**

Colonies-For reference, when I say "colony" I don't mean entire planets, I'm referring to sections of the planet controlled by individual factions. Human colonies can be roughly divided into "national colonies" and "private colonies". Private colonies are any colony not controlled by a government, for example, corporations, other large organizations, or private individuals who are wealthy enough. Private colonies tend to have a definitive goal, for example a corporation owns a colony in order to mine resources, or a conservation group owns a colony in order to use it as a massive wildlife preserve. National colonies on the other hand are directly administered by a government. The vast majority of these are part of Earth based nations, but there are a few of the oldest colonies that have gained independence. National colonies primarily serve as population dumps for the overcrowded old colonies and Earth. While specific policies vary, as a rule, all national colonies are expected to be completely self sufficient within one to five years. At which point the colony is expected to support itself and begin to produce something for the parent nation. There are also a large number of penal colonies, generally located on lifeless moons or other inhospitable locations.

Population-Almost immediately after the discovery of the Charon relay, a race to colonize the most territory began. In order to colonize more territory, nations need more people. This led to the creation of massive tax incentives for having children in almost every country across the Earth. And when you crunch the numbers for human population growth I came up with 500 couples each have 4 kids. That's 2,000, assuming they are fifty/fifty male/female, that's 1,000 couples and each of them have 4 kids, that's 4,000 kids. They make 2,000 couples, that's 8,000 kids, and so on. I know I didn't account for deaths and what not but still. And the numbers get scary when you multiply them by a couple billion.

Economics-Despite the expansion, the various Human economies are beginning to collapse under their own weight. Having seen near exponential growth in the stock markets since the advent of interstellar flight, it was only a matter of time before a crash occurred. While experience allowed the stock brokers and government to soften the blow, by 2093 the biggest Human economies are all in a steady downward slide, with rising unemployment, inflation, and no end in sight.

Wars-Almost as soon as the first colonies became self sufficient, some people believed that they should be independent of Earth based governments. Since then, there have been riots, protest, terrorist attacks, insurgencies, and full scale wars over colonial secession. In addition, there have been dozens of proxy wars between the great powers at the farthest corners of human space, fought over valuable element zero reserves or other natural resources.

Human Military Starships-Human space combat doctrine is radically different from the rest of the galaxy. The first difference is the vast carriers that are a carryover from the wet navies. But the other two primary differences are spawned for the scarcity of element zero in human space. While human navies do use ships that have Dreadnought scale weaponry, these ships are little more than a flying gun with engines and shields, designed to be a "sniper ship" meant to disable enemy ships at extreme range. The majority of Human capital ships are battle ships that are designed to get in close with the enemy with the intent to board the enemy ships. There are two reasons for this. First, it makes the battleships cheaper because they no longer need element zero for the massive main gun. And second, because a ship, with its element zero core in particular, are far too valuable to waste by blowing it up. Therefore, Human navies have devised hundreds of different ways to board enemy ships in space, boarding torpedoes, ramming, grappling hooks that pull the two ships together. To protect themselves from these attacks, Human ships are very solidly built, over engineered in every conceivable way in order to withstand constant bombardment without shields and regular collisions. Because of this, the loss of atmosphere is very common in combat, to the point that everyone is required to wear a space suit at all times during combat, and some ships are even designed to evacuate the atmosphere of the outer decks, only keeping the sleeping quarters and food storage pressurized. The threat of boarding has also affected the layout of the ships. Human ships are always cramped and utilitarian in design, think the inside of an aircraft carrier. A combination of narrow passage ways blind turns, and other built in features favor the defenders.

Human Technology-Human technology has advanced at a slightly different angle compared to the rest of the galaxy. They don't have omni-tools and use ballistic weapons as the basis of all their weapons, with little need to change. The two primary areas where Humanity has pulled forward of the rest of the galaxy is in the area of orbital construction and terraforming. Over almost every major human colony, there is at least one space station, generally cylindrical or resembling a miniature Citadel, spinning to provide gravity, and pointed away from the planet. These space stations are linked to the ground with a "space elevator" which is actually a very small, very crude mass relay that is used to launch containers to the orbiting space station. Inside, they are unloaded, reloaded, and then dropped back down, guided by mass effect fields to land in a specific location, either a lake, or in a cushion of mass effect fields. This technology allows for humans to build massive constructs in orbit relatively cheaply cutting out the need for shuttle craft completely. Similar technology is used in Titan ships, allowing them to support a remote colony until the native transportation infrastructure can be built, or resupply a garrison across the system nearly instantaneously, or it can be turned on a planet, giving a Titan near planet cracking abilities. Terraforming is the other technology in which Humanity has advanced ahead of the rest of the galaxy. They experience they gained for the successful Mars terraformation, and the Venus terraformation which is still in progress, have given Humans the skills and technology to bring other semi hospitable worlds up to human standards within a decade or less.


	11. Chapter 11

**Pvt. John O'Malley Interview post Human Wars**

So, you want to hear about the sieges on Shanxi? Well, ya asked the right guy, I was there when the Birds, that's what we called the Turians then, dropped a whole lot of hell on our heads. Me an my squad were out on patrol, ya see, bout ten miles away from the Hub, that's the center of the tunnel complex, where most of the command shit and stuff is, just so ya know, anyway, we were ten miles out when we heard a clap like thunder, only loud enough to knock some of us to the ground. By the time we got our bearings, there was this giant shroom cloud over where the Hub should have been, course, we thought we'd been nuked, turns out they just turned a big ass cannon on us but whatever. We, being the idiots we were at the time went runnin back thinking that we could help or something. We got about half way before we saw the first gunship overhead. We ducked for cover and it missed us, but it got us thinking, they must be out huntin survivors. That got our heads on straight in a hurry and we crawled into one of the tertiary access tunnels. That was when we found out the extent of the damage, a lot of our heavy stuff was in the Hub, some light manufacturing, hospitals, ammo dumps, command hubs, luckily most of the fighting men were out on patrol, or working on the tunnels somewhere else, so casualties were as light as you could expect after an orbital bombardment. Then we heard about the Salt Mine, shot landed ontop of the main shaft, took out just about the whole thing, half a mill dead just to start with, not counting missing and wounded who were gonna die. So ya, it was grim. After a week of flying around, the birds got tired of not finding us so they sent some troops down into the crater where they managed to dig their way into the tunnel complex. We, being the smart little apes we are had planned for this and made the tunnels just big enough for us to uncomfortably walk through, but too small for an armored bird to fit in at all. We had'em bottled up for days. Course, they still had the advantage of numbers, for every one we killed, they had ten more to throw into the meat grinder. Course that all changed after the fleet showed up, but you know that story.

**USS Colombia, Admiralty meeting, June 12, 2093**

"The politicians are demanding action gentlemen, there's been widespread civil disobedience across the colonies, whole planets destabilized, leaders assassinated, coups attempted. We must act, and act now!"

"I have said, the Colombia isn't ready, I will not throw away five thousand lives because you are in a hurry!"

"You'll throw away five billion if you do not act. This coalition needs to appear strong in order to keep the rogue states in line. That appearance is not helped by the fact that you have spent the last few months sitting around twiddling your thumbs!"

"But we aren't combat ready, and I'm not going to charge blindly throught a mass relay without a ship that is at full capacity!"

"Fine, how long until the weapons are online?"

"One week."

"Then you get one week. By then, the Lonestar should have reported back."

**Bridge of the USS Colombia, June 19****th****, 2093**

"Sir, we are prepared to make the jump."

"Very well, the Lonestar reported that there is a cluster of about thirty ships protecting the other side, the men know what to do. Make the jump."

**CSC of the Turian frigate Guardian of the Law, June 19****th****, 2093**

"Sir, the mass relay is activating."

"So, the degenerates finally chose to show their hand, plot an intercept course and…"

"Sir, the ship, its massive!"

"Spirits protect us. Evasive manuvers!"

"Too Late!"

**Bridge of the USS Colombia**

"Did you feel that sir?"

"What?"

"I think we hit something."

"Did it scratch the paint?"

"No sir"

"Good, I wouldn't want to ruin the new paint job on the first run now would we. Give the green light to the mariens, I'm sure they are just itching to come to grips with the enemy."

"Yes sir."

**Orca class boarding skiff, USS Colombia.**

"Listen up boys! Just got the green light from the bridge boys. Check yer seals'n'guns, check yer buddies, we don't know what kind of shit we're jumpin into so watch yer brothers backs. Go in, shoot anything that ain't one of us, and we all get out. Drinks are on me tonight boys!"

"Oorah!"

**CSC of the Turian cruiser, Peace Bringer.**

"Sir the enemy fleet numbers in the hundreds, we cannot hold the line!"

"We have our orders helmsman, we contain them or die trying"

"yes sir… Sir, they are launching what look to to be fighters or shuttles of some sort."

"What? Why would they… Boarders! They are attempting to board us, shoot them down, shoot them down!"

**Because this is an action oriented segment, I have decided to do a more traditional narration in order to give you the feel of a Human boarding attack.**

The skiff slammed into the side of the Turian cruiser, magnetic clamps holding it to the hull. The point men move quickly, opening the doors on their side to reveal the hull of the enemy ship. Placing a square of shaped charges against the metal, the point men retreat before blasting a hole in the hull. All this is accomplished in the eerie silence of vacuum as the orca lacks any form of pressurization, requiring spacesuits. The blast if followed by a blast of atmosphere as the pressures equalize.

The first in are the heavily armored point men, bearing shields and automatic shotguns. They clear an area around the breach in which the rest of the men assemble. Splitting into four teams, three lead by a point man, and one to protect the skiff, they begin a methodical search of the ship, wandering almost at random due to their lack of familiarity with the internal layout of the alien ship. As they widen their search, they encounter sporadic resistance form the few aliens who were lucky or smart enough to be wearing space suits, as by this time most of the ship is in a vacuum. These fights end with minimal Human casualties thanks to powerful armor, and long rehearsed skills.

The greatest resistance comes from the bridge which had been sealed before the hull breach. There, the aliens had barricaded themselves into a strong defensive position. The humans advanced slowly, under the protection of the point man's heavy shield, trading fire with the alien defenders until it devolved into a savage melee. The Humans charged the last few yards, breaking the cover of the shield, to kill the aliens with combat axes and bayonets. Caught off guard by this sudden assault the aliens fell quickly, giving the humans a nearly intact ship for study.

**Author's notes-**

**Ok finally got around to getting the next chapter up, moving into college eats a lot of time. The last section is really an experiment on my part, that style of writing isn't really my strong suit but I couldn't really think of any other way to properly convey what I was trying to do.**

**If you need a mental image for a point man, just think Cerberus Guardian in actual camouflage.**

**The lonestar is an unmanned long range probe, designed to gather intelligence from a system that has a blockaded mass relay. Able to travel farther and faster before needing to discharge its ftl cores, it arrives in a system and releases several smaller sub drones that perform the recon before reporting back via a miniaturized mass relay comm buoy. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Starboard Torpedo Battery #21 USS Colombia**

"Shield buster up!"

A I 14 foot long, 1 ½ foot wide torpedo emerges from a conveyor. Three men man handle it onto trolley embedded in the floor, and clamp it in. After it's pulled away from the armored doors of the conveyor, it is spun 90 degrees to line it up with the tube At the same time, a man with a device that looks something like a combination of a wrench and a bammer, inserts it into a small slot in the side of the torpedo, and twists it. All of the men wear light space suits, so that they battery can continue functioning even in the event of atmosphere loss.

"Timer set" he shouts backing away as the weapon is shoved into the tube and sealed.

"Vac it!"

A button is pushed, and the outer doors of the tube open and the torpedo is exposed to hard vacume.

Inside the battery,

"Target locked."

"Fire."

The entire battery turns slightly to bring its eight tubes to bear on a cruiser over a thousand miles away.

And all at once, eight torpedoes fire in sequence, first two to break the shields, second to to punch a hole in the hull, and the last four to penetrated to the core of the ship, where they explode with a force measured in megatons.

Then the cycle is repeated, eight times over.

**Flight deck #2 Carrier USS John Barker**

The sound of air being sucked out of an airlock as a pallet of ordinance rises out of the magazine deep in the bowls of the ship to be loaded onto one of the dozen different types of craft carried by the ship. It is accompanied by a man in a red space suit. He wheels the pallet to a waiting A194 Hell Bat fighter bomber

A man in purple pulls away a fuel line as he arrives, and another man in red comes to help load. All overseen by a man in brown.

Across the deck, a fighter limps back to the flight deck, crashing as it passes the threshold of the artificial gravity. Men in white and red rush to help the wounded bird, pulling the pilot and any remaining ordinance form the vehicle.

At the A194, the pilot emerges from a door in the hanger wall, having grabbed a quick cup of coffee and a bathroom break while his plane is prepped. The ordinance pallet is pulled away and sent back to the magazine for another load and the red shirts and purple shirts retreat, replaced by men in yellow in yellow and blue. A tractor is hooked up to the front of the plane, as the pilot climbs in and the final checks are made. When everything is deemed working it is pulled to a long rail in the floor. The front wheel is locked into place, the tractor goes back to fetch the next plane, and the final preparations for launch are made. The pilot gives the all clear, and this is echoed by a man in yellow. A second later, the plane is shot into space to complete it's mission, its wing passing only a foot over the head of the man in yellow.

As soon as the plane is out of sight, another returns from the void, landing with the assistance of cables laid on the deck It is pulled into position, and there is the sound of air being sucked out of an airlock as another pallet rises from the deep.

**Author's notes- Ok, a very human centric chapter, what I wanted to do was give a good idea of what it is like to fight in the human navy. For reference, on the carrier, flight deck #1 in on top of the ship and flight deck #2 in on the bottom of the ship**

**An A194 looks a lot like a jet version of a P-38 Lightning, with more bombs and missiles and guns.**

**And I got the idea for the inside of the torpedo battery from combining the torpedo room of a submarine and the turret of a battleship.**


End file.
